Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Tire Review by Curtis F.

"I find the idea of being "well-rounded" a little boring. Being good at something generally makes us not so good at something else. A 29er sucks on pavement because it's designed to shred on dirt, and a road bike isn't so fun on technical single track. Bruce Gordon lacks social graces because he's a mad scientist when it comes to bikes. The point is... without a little give, there's no take. So how could a tire be really great at any one thing if it's good at everything else? I had to find out.
The first day I put the BG Rock 'n Road tires on my Frances diffusible tourist, I immediately went for a ride on the local fireroad of choice, Aptos Creek in Nisene Marks. Climbing up the steep sections to eventually reach 1600', I was impressed by the grip on the hardpack characteristic of Santa Cruz County. I noticed that even at 70 psi, I could still easily stand up and pedal hard in the steep sections without spinning the rear tire. Dem fatties got bite.

A perfect synergy of predictable traction.

On the way down, I fell in love. Pardon my French, but these tires f-ing shred. The combination of grippy tread and soft sidewalls create a perfect synergy of predictable traction. These tires do what you expect them to do, even when you're sliding sideways through a sand pit at 25+ mph. They are soft without being mushy, and roll faster than I expected for such a large tire. They even behave nicely when loaded down with 30-40lbs of gear and beer.
So what don't they do? Well, they won't massage your calves after a long ride. I wouldn't recommend them to a faux CX'er who spends 95% of his or her time on the pavement. They're a little small for really technical stuff. But to be honest, these tires really don't suck at anything. Last weekend I went camping in the woods with these tires, and this morning they were still on my bike when I rushed to work on it. They might make the ride a little longer, but certainly not by much.
If I had to put a label on them, I would say the Rock 'n Road is a fireroad tire. A gravel travel companion. And it beats any other tire I've ever used for this purpose, hands down. It might not love pavement, it might not have the grip for slick-as-snot mud, but holy crap, this tire rolls like a rubber cloud when it comes to open trails and smooth-ish single track. It's grippy and predictable in corners, and eats up washboard and small rocks when bombing in the open. In short, I am absolutely in love with these tires and would recommend them wholeheartedly to anyone willing to listen."

Thanks so much for the kind words, Curtis! We appreciate the feedback and the pictures of your very nice Frances (with a BG taillight, no less!). If you Rock 'n Road riders out there would like to send us reviews, we'd like to feature them on this here soapbox.